Disbarred California lawyer suspended in Minnesota

A California attorney has had his license suspended in Minnesota, less than a year after being disbarred in his home state.

Douglas E. Mackenzie of Mountain View, California, had been suspended in both California and Minnesota but continued to put himself forth to clients as though he were authorized to represent them in trademark matters before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. According to the State Bar of California, Mackenzie had been suspended in 2008 and 2009 in that state for failure to comply with child or family support orders. In 2010, he was suspended there again for failing to pay his bar fees. He also had been suspended in Minnesota for non-payment of bar fees.

After he represented a client before the USPTO while not being licensed to practice law in any state, he was suspended in California again and subsequently disbarred. His Minnesota suspension, announced Tuesday, would require him to petition for reinstatement should he ever want to practice in Minnesota again.